


The Unknown Quantity

by dracoqueen22



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Campaign 2 (Critical Role), Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Fjorclay Week 2020, Frottage, M/M, Sexual Content, handjobs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 10:21:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23849620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dracoqueen22/pseuds/dracoqueen22
Summary: Fjord has no reason to be nervous. It’s an opportunity to commune with the Wildmother after all. The fact that he’s in love with Caduceus Clay has nothing to do with it.For FjorClay Week 2020, Day Seven, Nature
Relationships: Caduceus Clay/Fjord
Comments: 12
Kudos: 129





	The Unknown Quantity

Fjord is nervous.  
  
He doesn't have any reason to be nervous. It's just Caduceus. It's just their familiar roof with their familiar ridiculously large tree on top of their familiar home. He's in familiar comfortable clothes -- loose trousers, loose tunic, and the emblem Caduceus has given him on a thong around his neck. He’s unarmored, and unarmed in spirit, though he can call the Star Razor at a moment’s notice.  
  
He has no reason to be nervous.  
  
Maybe the tremble is excitement. Maybe the rapid flutter of his heart, the heat in his face, can be chalked up to excitement. Curiosity. Intrigue.  
  
He doesn't want to fuck this up. Maybe that's why he's nervous.  
  
He stares into the mirror again, looking for imperfections. He's clean. He's brushed his teeth and brushed his hair and wiped his face. His tusks are as good as they're going to get right now. There's nothing elaborate about his clothing.  
  
He's stalling.  
  
Fjord takes a deep breath.  
  
He can do this. Whatever _this_ is.  
  
He walks out of his room with his head held high and his shoulders squared, though there isn’t anyone to see him donning his fake confidence. It’s late, and the only one who's even remotely awake is Yasha. He can hear her in the training room, the low thuds of her fists impacting the sandbags and the occasional scrape of her boot across the floor. Yasha likes to practice with the door open, maybe because Beau likes to stand and watch sometimes, or maybe because Jester does, too.  
  
Either way, right now, she’s the only one awake.  
  
Thank.... errr, the Wildmother. Because Fjord's not sure he has the will to endure some good-natured teasing right now. His confidence is shaky enough as it is, as shaky as his knees as he climbs the stairs of the tower, anticipation and anxiety twisting in his gut in equal measures.  
  
It’s just Caduceus.  
  
Except it’s not just Caduceus, is it? Because it hasn’t been just Caduceus to Fjord for a long, long time. He’s not sure when it started. He doesn’t think he can pick a moment and go ‘there, that’s the one, that’s when I knew I wanted to kiss Caduceus.’ It’s just a thing that grew gradually, out of nothing, a tiny seed planted in uncertain soil, taking root and refusing to wither away.  
  
Caduceus would be proud of the metaphor Fjord thinks.  
  
So yeah. It’s just Caduceus. Except it’s not anymore. It won’t ever be just Caduceus again.  
  
Fjord takes another deep breath and climbs up into the tower. He's greeted by the smell of incense, a mix of something floral and something woodsy. The leaves whisper overhead, branches rustling together, but it's otherwise quiet, save for the distant sounds of Rosohna beyond the near-intimate space Caduceus has cultivated up here.  
  
It takes him a moment to find Caduceus, and when he does, his breath is punched out of his chest.  
  
Caduceus sits on a blanket beneath the tree, legs curled lotus beneath him, his hair completely loose and laying in waves over his shoulders and down his back. He's facing away from Fjord, which makes the lines of his bare spine all the more visible, but it's not his loose hair which makes Fjord startle.  
  
It's the fact Caduceus isn't wearing a stitch of clothing.  
  
Obviously, it's not the first time Fjord has seen Caduceus disrobed. They've shared baths, and they've shared rooms, and nudity is sort of a given considering how they all travel together. Fjord has seen every member of the Mighty Nein in various states of undress. Nudity is not startling.  
  
Here and now, however, it throws Fjord for a loop.  
  
"You're right on time," Caduceus says without turning, though one ear twitches, swiveling a bit toward Fjord.  
  
"Am I?" Fjord fidgets, wanting to ogle but knowing he shouldn’t. There are what seems to be spatters of freckles on the back of Caduceus’ shoulders. He wants to get closer to find out.  
  
But.  
  
Nudity? Caduceus hadn’t said a thing about this ceremony requiring nudity!  
  
Caduceus chuckles and looks over his shoulder only to blink for a few seconds, that slow blink he does when he’s trying to reason something out. "You're a little overdressed, aren't you?"  
  
"O-overdressed?" Fjord splutters. Heat floods his face as he tugs self-consciously at the hem of his tunic. "I didn't know-- You didn't say-- I mean..."  
  
"It's a ceremony for the Wildmother. It's a sacred ritual," Caduceus says as he stands, idly brushing dirt and leaves from his hands, as naked as the day he was born, skin glittering in the lights and off his earrings. He’s naked except for his earrings.  
  
Gods, he has a really nice ass.  
  
"She wants us to commune with us as we are," Caduceus says.  
  
Fjord's heart hammers in his chest. His tongue flicks over his lips. "You mean... naked?"  
  
Caduceus turns toward him, and by the gods, that's a lot of Caduceus. Miles and miles of bare, softly-furred skin. A trail of pale hair leading toward a thatch at his groin, his softened length nestled beneath, and Fjord tries not to stare, but it's _right there_.  
  
So he pins his gaze to somewhere over Caduceus' left shoulder.  
  
"That's the idea," Caduceus says.  
  
"Oh." Fjord nibbles on his bottom lip. It's just him, and Caduceus up here, and it's nothing Caduceus hasn't seen before. "Is this a sex thing?"  
  
Caduceus lifts his eyebrows, and there’s a hint of a smile in the curve of his lips. "Do you want it to be?"  
  
Fjord's face flames because yes, he very much would like it if this was a sex thing, but he knows that’s not what it’s about. Caduceus wouldn’t invite him up here under false pretenses. "That's not-- I didn't--"  
  
"No, Fjord, it's not a sex thing, though Ms. Jester certainly thinks it is." Caduceus laughs, loud and full, and it's such a nice sound. "Though there are some ceremonies that invite the pleasures of the flesh." He taps his chin thoughtfully. "Next season, if I recall."  
  
"Are you serious?" Fjord splutters.  
  
Caduceus grins, and his ears twitch because Fjord is watching his ears, and his earrings, and not, for example, the way Caduceus’ nipples gradually peak in the chill of the evening. "I'm always serious."  
  
He has to be joking. Or is he? Sometimes, it’s hard to tell with Deuces. Every once in a while, Fjord is starkly reminded that Caduceus was mostly a hermit who really only interacted with his family and the grief-stricken. He’s not so good at the interacting with people concept sometimes.  
  
Still.  
  
Fjord is supposed to be naked, he guesses, because Caduceus is naked. It’ll look weird if he doesn’t, right? After all, it’s not like nudity is unfamiliar to him. He’s used to it. It’s nothing Caduceus hasn’t seen before.  
  
So he’ll just.  
  
Do that.  
  
Fjord pulls off his tunic and hopes Beau’s workouts have been paying off. His abs are much more defined now, and people walk around shirtless all the time, right? No big deal there. He kicks off his boots, too. That's easy. His trousers slide off between one breath and the next, before he can argue otherwise and because he's wearing smallclothes. They’re no different than bathing shorts or swim shorts.  
  
He hooks his thumbs in the hem of his smallclothes, however, and that's when he hesitates, when modesty catches up to him. There's a breeze up here -- a testament to how exposed they are -- and it's cold enough to make him shiver, make his own nipples stiffen, too  
  
He's been naked in front of Caduceus before, but this still feels different. He feels like his heart is going to thud out of his skin. What if Caduceus can tell by looking at him? What if Fjord pops a boner when Caduceus smiles or starts talking?  
  
What if--  
  
"Fjord?"  
  
"Yeah, I know. I'm just gonna--"  
  
A warm hand rests on his shoulder. "It's all right. You can leave those on if you want."  
  
Fjord flushes and looks up at Caduceus, intensely aware of how close they are now. "But you said--"  
  
"I think, given your new faith, showing up here is dedication enough." Caduceus smiles as he pats Fjord on the shoulder before taking his hand back.  
  
Fjord's shoulder is immediately cold without it. "Are you sure?"  
  
“I can tell you’re uncomfortable,” Caduceus says, and suddenly, he’s fully clothed. There's no way he got dressed that quickly. It has to be an illusion.  
  
"You should only be as unclothed as you are comfortable being," Caduceus says, and gestures to himself. "I am at ease with my nudity, but if it'll make you feel better, I'll wear this."  
  
Fjord shakes his head. "No, you just took me by surprise is all."  
  
He absolutely can do this.  
  
He takes in a deep breath and squares his shoulders. "I want to do this right," he says, and shoves down his smallclothes, kicking them away to join the pile of discarded clothing before embarrassment gets the best of him. He may or may not suck in his stomach just a little, really show off those new abs.  
  
Caduceus blinks, and Fjord watches his gaze roam over Fjord's body before he jerks it away, and looks a bit embarrassed. "Well, if you're sure..." he says, and his face turns a bit pink, ears twitching.  
  
Wait.  
  
Fjord's heart thuds louder.  
  
Is Caduceus... interested in him?  
  
Caduceus' clothing fades until he's standing there completely nude, the wind ruffling his hair, and his nipples little pink buds. Fjord admires them for longer than he should before he ducks his head and rubs the back of his neck, staring at Caduceus' toes.  
  
"What's next?" he asks Caduceus’ feet.  
  
"Oh. We should sit." Caduceus turns away and lowers himself back into lotus, patting the empty space beside him. "I have some incense and some tea..." He trails off, looking up at Fjord expectantly before his gaze slides away.  
  
Fjord sits next to him, copying Caduceus, and their knees brush. "I'll have some tea, but I don't think the incense is edible."  
  
He glances askance at Caduceus. Is it his imagination or is Deuces’ blushing?  
  
Caduceus chuckles as he pours the tea and offers Fjord a cup, their fingers brushing. "No. Not this kind anyway. Though I wonder if they do make edible incense? Then again, what purpose would that serve?" He hums, forehead wrinkled in thought.  
  
Fjord sips the tea, inhaling the fragrance of it and the incense, stealing another glance at Caduceus as he does so. There's a wanting, deep in his core, whenever he looks at Caduceus. He’s tried to ignore it, but like everything else he pushed aside, that seems to only make it stronger and more urgent. He used to assume it had something to do with how much Caduceus helped him save himself. Or that he was confusing their friendship.  
  
Now he thinks it’s something else.  
  
Now he wonders if he might just be a little bit in love with Caduceus Clay.  
  
"Huh. Maybe it's something to bring up to Mr. Caleb. I'm sure he'd know," Caduceus says after a moment. His ears flick, one after the other, before he favors Fjord with a slow smile that makes Fjord’s insides flush with heat. Gods, he loves that smile.  
  
"How's the tea?"  
  
"It's good," Fjord says. "I mean it's always good but... uh... _who_ are we drinking?"  
  
Caduceus laughs and sips his own cup, a small hum of delight vibrating in his throat. "No one this time. I picked up this blend when we were in Uthodurn. I thought it was time to try something new."  
  
"I can understand that."  
  
"I know you can." Caduceus sets his empty cup down and rests his hands on his knees. "So now we just close our eyes, focus on the Wildmother, and you know, whatever happens, happens."  
  
Right. They’re here for a reason which isn’t so Fjord can ogle Caduceus to his heart’s content and constantly barrage himself with _what ifs_.  
  
"What's supposed to happen?" Fjord sets his cup to the side, not quite finished, but he might want it later. It’ll at least give him something to do with his hands.  
  
"Sometimes she talks. Sometimes she sings. Sometimes we get a glimpse of things she has in store for us." Caduceus closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath. "The unknown is part of the faith."  
  
Fjord rests his hands on his knees as well, trying to match every bit of Caduceus’ posture. He wants to do this right, and to do that, he’ll have to ignore the brushing of their knees, and the teasing puffs of the cold breeze.  
  
“At least this unknown is a lot less unsettling,” Fjord observes aloud.  
  
Caduceus opens his eyes, a faint look of alarm on his face. “I should have thought of that. I’m sorry, Fjord.” He reaches over then, resting his hand on Fjord’s knee, warmth emanating from his palm. “If you’d like, I could be more, uh… explicit?”  
  
“And lose the mystery?” Fjord tries to smile, but it’s lop-sided, his heart thudding so loud he swears it throbs in his ears. “I trust you, and I trust her, too. I want a chance to show my faith.”  
  
Caduceus tilts his head. His hand is still on Fjord’s knee. “You trust me,” he murmurs, but it’s more of an echo than a question. “It’s nice to hear that.”  
  
“Of course I do. We all do.” Fjord can’t help frowning. He worries for Caduceus sometimes. Because Deuces is always looking after them, but won’t let them in enough to do the same. “You’re a good guy, Caduceus. We’d be lost without you.”  
  
 _I’d be lost without you_.  
  
It’s the truth, but Fjord clamps his mouth shut before he spills it. Heat steals into his face, all the way to the tips of his ears, and Caduceus’ hand is still on his knee.  
  
Fjord wants to kiss him so damn much.  
  
It’s such a visceral thing. Less a desire to have sex with Caduceus -- though he certainly wants that, too -- and more a need to hold Caduceus, to wrap himself in Caduceus’ arms and vice versa and just… be.  
  
It’s a stupid notion, Fjord knows. He’s heard far too much of those stupid romance novels and smut books of Jester’s. Life doesn’t work like that. Romance doesn’t work like that. Nothing’s easy or simple or…  
  
Damn it, he just wants to kiss Caduceus.  
  
“Fjord?”  
  
Fjord blinks and realizes he’s been staring. Caduceus is looking at him, brow furrowed, pink eyes soft with concern, and Fjord’s heart crawls up into his throat.  
  
“S-sorry,” Fjord says, and coughs to cover up the thickness in his voice. “I must’ve spaced off there.” He tries to smile, but it slips on the edges, because he feels like what he’s always been -- a coward. “Where were we?”  
  
Caduceus stares at him, and Fjord tries not to squirm. He knows, he really does, that Caduceus can’t read minds, but he swears sometimes it’s like Deuces has some kind of sixth sense for what people are thinking. Like he can see right through you, and Fjord’s terrified of what Caduceus is seeing right now.  
  
“Communing,” Caduceus says, finally, and his hand is still on Fjord’s knee. He doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to move it, and Fjord doesn’t want him to anyway. “Sometimes, you know, it doesn’t have to be with Her.”  
  
Fjord’s brow furrows. “What do you mean?”  
  
“We share a faith, Fjord,” Caduceus says, and his eyes are so pink, so soft, and his hand is so warm on Fjord’s knee. “That connection is as much an honor to Her as anything else.”  
  
Fjord’s mouth goes dry. “Uh, what does that even mean, Deuces?”  
  
Caduceus leans in, and the wind rustles his hair, and all Fjord can smell is the incense, the tea, the greenery which always cloaks him. “I want to kiss you, Fjord,” he says, in that frank way of his. “May I?”  
  
His heartbeat thuds in his ears. Sweat dots his palms. His face is hot, and he’s leaning in toward Caduceus also, like he’s magnetically drawn.  
  
“Yes,” Fjord says, too quiet, too much like a whisper, so he clears his throat and tries again. “Yeah, Deuces. Kiss me.”  
  
And Caduceus does.  
  
He’s gentle. He’s so fucking gentle, and Fjord’s heart aches from the softness of it. The careful touch of two fingers to the curve of his jaw, turning his head toward Caduceus, turning him to the perfect angle. The brush of Caduceus’ lips over his, soft and a little chapped, a little chilled from the wind.  
  
Caduceus’ hand is still on his knee, and Fjord makes an unintelligible noise in his throat. He grips his own thighs to keep from grabbing Caduceus and shoving him down, blanketing Caduceus in his body.  
  
Caduceus pulls back, and Fjord tries not to panic as Caduceus’ brow furrows. “You all right?” he asks. “You made a sound, and I wasn’t sure what it meant.”  
  
“It was a good sound,” Fjord assures him, as his thighs ache from his grip, and his cock tries to stand up and say hello when he has no damn smallclothes to hide it. “I’m good. Don’t worry. That was…”  
  
“Nice,” Caduceus finishes, and he offers one of those slow, steady smiles which always seem to cut Fjord down to the depths of his heart.  
  
“Yeah. Nice,” Fjord echoes, and because it’s safe, he leans in and kisses Caduceus again, tilts his head into the caress of Caduceus’ fingers, teases his tongue along the seam of Caduceus’ lips, and shares the taste of the tea between them.  
  
He shivers, not because of the breeze. Caduceus makes that humming sound he makes when he likes something. Fjord’s heart tries to beat out of his chest, and his cock twitches again, like it’s trying to ruin his life.  
  
Fjord doubts this is what Caduceus meant when he invited Fjord up here. Or what the Wildmother wants when she seeks for them to commune.  
  
Guilt creeps in on the edges. Or maybe that’s the embarrassment because the heat in his groin is getting impossible to ignore, and for someone like Caduceus, he’s no doubt noticed. Fjord doesn’t know if his dignity can handle the gentle letdown.  
  
He eases out of the kiss, despite how much he wants to lean back into it, and his heart skips a beat at the hazy look in Caduceus’ eyes. It makes him want to kiss Caduceus senseless, keep him breathless and wanting, flushed for Fjord and Fjord alone.  
  
“I… should go.” Fjord scrambles to his feet, tries to keep his body angled away from Caduceus to hide his shame.  
  
Caduceus’ hand was still on his knee, and now it’s around his wrist, because Caduceus is tall and has long arms. It’s too easy for him to grab Fjord before he can go far, though his grip is loose enough Fjord could escape if he wants.  
  
If he wants.  
  
“Mr. Fjord, I’m sorry,” Caduceus says, and there’s a tautness to his tone. Fjord hates himself for causing it. “I pushed too far.”  
  
“It’s not you.” Fjord’s shoulders hunch, still turned away while his traitorous cock throbs and lengthens and shows itself during what’s supposed to be a ceremony honoring the Wildmother.  
  
It’s not a sex thing! Caduceus already told him so.  
  
“I just… uh…” Fjord’s face is so hot he’s sure water would sizzle on it. He gropes for an answer that won’t offend or upset Caduceus further, but it can’t be a lie either, because Caduceus will see through a lie and anyway.  
  
Anyway, Caduceus doesn’t like lies, and Fjord doesn’t like lying to him. Not anymore. He promised himself he wouldn’t do that.  
  
“You don’t have to leave,” Caduceus murmurs.  
  
“Staying is not a good idea though.” Fjord sighs and his shoulder sink as he turns back toward Caduceus, his face aflame, and the evidence of his shame bobbing in the breeze. “Don’t think this is what should be happening.”  
  
“Who says?” Caduceus’ voice is almost too quiet for Fjord to catch.  
  
He blinks. “What?”  
  
Caduceus climbs to his feet, and Fjord looks up at him -- because he’s always looking up at Caduceus -- at the wind tugging Caduceus’ hair, and the crease of concentration in Caduceus’ face. Caduceus is smiling, too, gentle and genuine, and Fjord vaguely remembers him smiling in the face of danger, when he’s scared, because that’s what he does.  
  
Is he scared now?  
  
“If you don’t want it to happen, that’s one thing,” Caduceus says. “But if you think it shouldn’t because it shouldn’t, I have to wonder who it is that says it shouldn’t.”  
  
Fjord blinks. Again. Sometimes navigating Caduceus’ turn of phrase is a bit like sailing on dark waters with a cloudy sky. He’s reasonably confident the compass is pointing north, but without the stars, it’s hard to be sure.  
  
“What?” Fjord repeats, because he’s dumb.  
  
Caduceus reaches for him, and Fjord doesn’t back away. If anything, he leans into the warm hand cupping his face, the thumb sweeping over the curve of his jaw.  
  
“I want to kiss you again,” Caduceus murmurs. “And then I want whatever comes next,” he says, and he’s close enough for Fjord to feel the warmth of his exhalations. “I don’t know what it is, so you’ll have to help me with that, Mr. Fjord, but if you don’t want it, all you have to do is say that.”  
  
Fjord nervously licks his lips. “How do you manage to make things sound so simple and so complicated at the same time?”  
  
“It’s a gift,” Caduceus says with a grin. “But you didn’t answer my question. May I kiss you again?”  
  
“And everything else that comes after?” Fjord asks, but his hands are already creeping to Caduceus’ waist. His fingers shake as they graze over soft, pale gray skin, the ridges of Caduceus’ hipbones discovered by his calloused thumbs.  
  
“If you’d like,” Caduceus murmurs, and then they’re kissing again, and Fjord isn’t sure who leaned in first, himself or Deuces.  
  
He doesn’t think it matters.  
  
He has to tilt his head up as much as Caduceus has to bend down, and they draw together like moths to a flame. When their bodies collide, Fjord makes a muffled noise because he’s just brushed all sensitive over Caduceus’ thighs and--  
  
And Caduceus’ dick has decided to perk up and say hello to Fjord’s bellybutton.  
  
Fjord’s doubts vanish in a smear of precome along his belly.  
  
“So, uh, I guess you want me, too,” Fjord says as he rises up to be able to kiss Caduceus deeper, teetering off-balance, seeking the warmth of Caduceus’ skin compared to the chill of the night air.  
  
The night air.  
  
Shit.  
  
Logic returns in the space of a heartbeat as Caduceus kisses the corner of his mouth and breathes a laugh. “I guess that is what this feeling is,” he says.  
  
“We’re on the roof,” Fjord says.  
  
“Is that a problem?”  
  
“Maybe we shouldn’t be standing at least?” Fjord suggests because no, it’s not a problem, not really. Besides, going elsewhere would require stopping, probably putting on clothes, and then maybe running into Jester or someone else in the hallway, which would involve teasing and questions and answers and--  
  
Nope.  
  
The roof is fine.  
  
“My knees are a little weak,” Caduceus admits.  
  
Fjord breathes a quiet curse. He kisses Caduceus again, because that soft admission is doing things to him. It makes trying to sit back down a little awkward, but also not, because Caduceus plops down and pulls Fjord into his lap, and yes, this is perfect.  
  
Height difference, what height difference? Fjord folds his arms over Caduceus’ shoulders and leans into him, kissing him again and again. Caduceus’ arms wrap around his waist, holding him close, humming into the kiss. Caduceus is more than warm now, he’s hot. He’s breathing in sharper bursts, much like Fjord. And when Fjord grinds forward, Caduceus’ cock meets his, equally firm.  
  
Caduceus makes a sound in his throat, one Fjord’s never heard before, and his heart races. It’s a sound of pleasure, of wanting.  
  
For Fjord.  
  
“I don’t know what comes next, Fjord,” Caduceus says. There’s a hitch in his breathing, an ache of need in his voice.  
  
“We can keep it simple,” Fjord murmurs as he curls his hands around their cocks and presses them together, firm heat to firm heat, with nothing but the slick of their precome to smooth the way.  
  
Caduceus groans, low and deep, and his hand joins Fjord, their fingers fumbling together, awkward at first, but they find a rhythm quickly as if they’re of one mind about it.  
  
“Simple,” Caduceus pants. He licks his lips, his hand moving faster, his fingers pressing in on Fjord’s spine where he’s still got an arm wrapped around him. “Simple is good.”  
  
Fjord chuckles, his nose pressed to Caduceus’ cheek, his hips riding the motion of their strokes. “It gets better.”  
  
“Does it?” Caduceus moves beneath Fjord, rolling up to meet him, squeezing and stroking, his breaths warm and damp where they puff over Fjord’s lips.  
  
Fjord groans and hooks an arm over Caduceus’ shoulder, drawing them closer, the air hot and humid between them. He’s panting into Caduceus’ ear, gnawing on his bottom lip, resisting the urge to sink his teeth into Caduceus’ shoulder. He moves harder, faster, stomach clenching with every rock of his hips, his cock spilling more pre-come over their fingers.  
  
Caduceus is making these sounds, these little grunts and moans and breathy exhales. It’s driving Fjord crazy because he never thought he’d get to hear Deuces sound like this. Eager. Hungry. Desperate. Wrecked.  
  
Caduceus is moving faster, too. Exhaling with every stroke, his fingers squeezing, squeezing, _squeezing_ , and Fjord puffs out a hot pant, dizzy with sensation. There’s a chilly wind, but he barely feels it because of the fire under his skin, the fire between them. He drags his mouth to Caduceus’, aims for a kiss, but all he ends up doing is breathing against Caduceus’ lips, their foreheads pressed together.  
  
His cock throbs, the tension building in his body, tighter and tighter. Fjord gasps, elbow digging into Caduceus’ shoulderblade as he holds on, as he thrusts into their combined grip, the drag of his cock against Caduceus’ a maddening friction.  
  
And then Caduceus jerks and makes the sexiest noise Fjord has ever heard him make before his cock pulses heat, and he’s spilling all over their fingers. He babbles something in a language Fjord doesn’t know -- it sounds a little like Giant, and he crushes Fjord against his chest as he makes arrhythmic thrusts with his hips.  
  
It’s the hottest thing Fjord has ever seen. It’s no wonder his world dissolves into white-hot static for a moment as he follows Caduceus over, spattering over their combined grip, his claws digging into Caduceus’ shoulder. He’s drawn taut as a bowstring, until the tension snaps, and he slumps against Caduceus, dragging in heavy breaths, his heart pounding.  
  
Fjord rests his forehead on Caduceus’ shoulder, and just breathes in the scent of tea and dirt and incense, familiar smells of safety and comfort.  
  
“I can’t imagine it gets better than that,” Caduceus says, sounding awed and near-faint, and his frank assessment draws a chuckle from Fjord.  
  
He lifts his head with effort, managing a crooked grin. “I think it all depends on your preferences really, but there are other things we can do,” Fjord says.  
  
“Right now?” Caduceus asks, and his eyes are big and wide, and his face is flushed from the pleasure. He’s simultaneously adorable and sexy, and Fjord wants to kiss him again.  
  
If he could get himself up again, he would from this sight alone.  
  
“Uh, well, I don’t know about you but it takes me a little time to… err, reset?” Fjord points down, and realizes they’re holding each other still, sticky mess and all. “Damn, we need a bath.”  
  
“I didn’t realize it got so messy,” Caduceus says with a little frown, his ears twitching. He lifts his hand, spunk clinging to his fingers, and his forehead crinkles. He examines it like he’s never seen it before.  
  
Fjord arches an eyebrow. “Even messier when there are two dicks involved. Are you telling me you never… you know.” He makes a gesture which would have made Jester proud.  
  
It doesn’t help though.  
  
Caduceus gives him a blank look.  
  
“Jerked off?” Fjord clarifies, and when Caduceus blinks at him, he sighs and says, “Pleasured yourself?”  
  
“Oh.” Caduceus offers a sage nod. “Hm. I don’t know if it ever occurred to me.” He tilts his head, forehead wrinkling again. “I mean, obviously pleasure is natural, and exploring one’s body is natural as well. I always knew there was pleasure to be found, but I never, hmm, followed it to the natural conclusion.”  
  
Fjord’s jaw physically drops.  
  
“This is your first fucking orgasm?” he asks, and maybe his voice is a little too loud, carrying on the wind, but damn.  
  
 _Damn_.  
  
“Maybe how you’d define it.” Caduceus shrugs, looking unbothered by the whole thing. “Though now I see what I was missing, I ought to do this more often.”  
  
Fjord makes a strangled noise. Sometimes, he can’t believe Caduceus Clay is a person who actually exists. “You’re incredible, you know that?”  
  
Caduceus looks at him as if the sun suddenly shone in his eyes. “I didn’t, no, but I appreciate you saying so.” He smiles, and he touches Fjord’s cheek, except he touches Fjord with the sticky hand.  
  
“Oh,” he says, as Fjord freezes. “Oops.”  
  
“We really need a bath.” Fjord laughs and grabs Caduceus’ wrist, taking the opportunity to lean in and kiss Caduceus, kiss the apology from his lips.  
  
It’s hard to believe he’d been so nervous. What had he been afraid of? Is there anything ever dishonest or cruel about Caduceus?  
  
“Sorry about your ritual, by the way,” Fjord says after the kiss and an awkward moment, and a stiff breeze which reminds him he’s naked, coated in sweat, and sitting on top of a roof under a gigantic tree. “I don’t think this is the direction it was supposed to go.”  
  
Caduceus reaches over with his long-ass arms and hooks some fabric with his fingers, dragging it close enough to reveal two robes -- the same robes they appropriated from the spa in Rexxentrum.  
  
“Somehow, I don’t think She’d be displeased,” Caduceus says as he hands the robe over before shrugging the other over his shoulders. “Pleasure, after all, is one of her most natural wonders.”  
  
Fjord cinches the sash shut and stares at Caduceus. “You think the Wildmother planned this?”  
  
“I think She knows things you and I can’t begin to fathom.” Caduceus’ face pinks, his ears flattening like they do when he’s embarrassed, not that it happens often. “I’m sure She knows how much I like you.”  
  
Fjord knows he should get up, but Caduceus looks so damn cute with his blush, and his twitching ears, and his fumbling fingers as he tries to knot the sash on his too-short robe. It’s a wonder Fjord ever felt uneasy.  
  
He cups Caduceus’ jaw and pulls him in for another kiss, chaste this time. “She must know how much I like you, too,” Fjord says, though his face burns, and it terrifies him to admit as much.  
  
It’s the right thing to say though because Caduceus’ face lights up, and his ears do this flick-swivel thing they do when he’s happy, and he kisses Fjord again like each kiss is never going to be enough.  
  
Fjord supposes they’ll make it down to the bath eventually. For right now, however, he can’t think of anything he’d rather do than kiss Caduceus senseless.  
  


***

**Author's Note:**

> Ending FjorClay week with the nsfw/smutty content. That's the way I like to roll. ;) 
> 
> Feedback is always welcome and appreciated. I've got the handle of these boys when they're soft, but not when they're... hot and heavy, so I'd like to know how I did. Thanks for reading!


End file.
